Bengal Cabinet clears the deck for major land, power & logistics projects
Kolkata: The Bengal government has taken a series of key decisions aimed at accelerating investment and industrial growth, with the state Cabinet approving the utilisation of over 200 acres of land for multiple projects.
The Cabinet also gave the green signal to JSW Energy Ltd after it emerged as the successful bidder for developing and operating a 1,600 MW supercritical power plant, which the state plans to set up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
In a move to strengthen warehousing and logistics infrastructure to support the growth of e-commerce, the state has allotted 11.35 acres of land to Nahar Industrial Enterprises Limited. The Nahar Group is expected to invest around Rs 500 crore to develop warehousing facilities catering to major e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart. The warehouse will come up at Singur in Hooghly district. The project was announced at the Business and Industry Conclave held on December 18.
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee said the Cabinet has approved the use of several land parcels under the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).
These include 30.42 acres at Vidyasagar Industrial Park in Kharagpur, 155 acres at Jangal Sundari Karmanagari in Purulia, 2.77 acres at Haringhata Industrial Park in Nadia, and 1.37 acres at Panagarh Industrial Park. In addition, 0.5 acres of land has been cleared for office space as part of the second phase of the Gems and Jewellery Park at Ankurhati in Howrah.
The Cabinet had earlier, in September, approved the setting up of the 1,600 MW power plant comprising two units of 800 MW each under the PPP model. “JSW Energy Limited has been entrusted with setting up the proposed supercritical thermal power plant, which will be a significant step towards meeting the rising demand for power. The concession has been awarded for 25 years, with a provision to extend it by another five years, if required,” Bhattacharjee said.
In another decision, the Cabinet approved the complete merger of Mother Dairy Calcutta into Banglar Dairy. “The legal existence of Mother Dairy Calcutta has formally ended. After completion of all statutory procedures, it has been fully merged. From now on, all products and operations earlier under Mother Dairy Calcutta will be sold in the name of Banglar Dairy,” the finance minister added.
